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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28441701">Countdown</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesolemneyed/pseuds/thesolemneyed'>thesolemneyed</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SEVENTEEN (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Drabble, M/M, New Year's Eve, New Year's Kiss, a touch of angst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 21:21:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>563</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28441701</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesolemneyed/pseuds/thesolemneyed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p><i>"Don't read the last page<br/>But I stay when you're lost and I'm scared and you're turning away<br/>I want your midnights<br/>But I'll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year's Day" </i><br/>-<b> Taylor Swift, New Year's Day </b></p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Five years, five kisses.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Seokmin | DK</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Seventeen Holidays</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Countdown</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is a submission for the 17Hols fest. It's another short one, but it seemed a waste to let New Year's pass without attempting this prompt!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Five years ago, they shared their first kiss as the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve. The party had been cramped, Soonyoung was sweating inside the sparkly sequin jacket Seungkwan had forced him into and Seokmin squirming in the too tight jeans Jeonghan had coaxed onto him.</p>
<p>They were vaguely aware of each other as a friend of a friend (of a friend) early in the party and were pulled like a magnet towards its opposite.</p>
<p>Which they were, in as many ways as they were similar.</p>
<p>Seokmin was angles, sharp lines where Soonyoung’s were round. Seokmin was settled, sturdy where Soonyoung’s energy vibrated through the room, effervescent as falling confetti. Seokmin’s gaze was hot coal where Soonyoung felt like flaking ash.</p>
<p>Yet, when they kissed, Seokmin’s heat seeped into Soonyoung’s being, stoking something deep inside him.</p>
<p>Four years ago, they arrived at the party together, already a bottle deep in cheap champagne, their clothes smelling of the same detergent.</p>
<p>They hadn’t peeled themselves away from one another the whole evening, legs twining on the couch, hands lingering on waists, faces nudging at collarbones.</p>
<p>Their kiss at midnight had been sweet, tender, slow; no need to rush, no need to fumble. They’d smirked into each other’s lips and ventured home soon after, the promise of another year buoying them over the crowds.</p>
<p>Three years ago, their touches were more familiar, their jokes shared with knowing glances.</p>
<p>And yet, they’d circled around each other, almost shy. Seokmin had hovered between Mingyu’s height and Minghao’s gravitas. Soonyoung had clung to Jun’s bright energy and had avoided Jihoon’s dark glances.</p>
<p>They’d reconvened, naturally, as the clocks crept towards twelve, eyes skimming over one another’s faces, filled with silent apologies. The kisses they’d shared had been chaste, sentimental, Seokmin laughing when Soonyoung murmured a quip into the line of his neck.</p>
<p>Two years ago, they arrived at the party with the rippling waves of another argument still coursing around them.</p>
<p>Soonyoung had accepted curdling liquor from a tall man Seokmin only vaguely recognised, both of them pulling faces as he curled an unknowing arm around Soonyoung which was rejected, only a hint too late.</p>
<p>Seokmin had buried himself in Seungcheol’s well-meaning advice, sneaking glimpses at Soonyoung across the room.</p>
<p>Soonyoung had distracted himself with dancing louder, bigger than before. Telling jokes which he knew Seokmin didn’t laugh at, but that he thought the tall man might.</p>
<p>Their kiss at midnight had smelt of cigarettes - a habit which Seokmin detested, Soonyoung was aware - and had landed on cheeks, given by tight lips.</p>
<p>One year ago, they had ended the year at different parties, in different houses. Seokmin had salted his drink with tears and Soonyoung had choked back bitter shots.</p>
<p>Their kisses had been foreign, stilted, had felt like kissing the outline of someone they used to love.</p>
<p>This year, they tread softly around one another. Soonyoung blushes as Seokmin laughs loudly at one of his jokes, a new one, freshly formed in his mouth. Seokmin twinkles as Soonyoung rests a gentle hand on the inside of his elbow, his hands like a potter’s reshaping him into something new.</p>
<p>Midnight approaches and their eyelashes cast long shadows on their cheeks as they dance around the question in both of their minds.</p>
<p>The brief kiss they share, huddled on the balcony in the shivering air, tastes of forgiveness.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hope you all had a pleasant end to 2020 and that 2021 holds better times for us all!</p>
<p>Come play with me on twitter (@thesolemneyed)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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